Trey Lewis (American football)

Lewis was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round, being the 185 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.[14]

He is the fourth Washburn University player ever to be drafted to an NFL team, joining offensive tackle Ed Schneider, who was picked in the 17th round and the 169th overall pick by the New York Giants in 1944 and outside linebacker Troy Stedman, who was picked 170th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round of the 1988 NFL Draft.[15][16]

He's shown a lot of good things, Coming in as a rookie, he's accepting his responsibility now. With us releasing Grady (Jackson), there's going to be a big weight on his shoulders and I think he's going to take it in stride.

— Michael Boley[1]

Lewis made his first start of the season against the Texans on September 30, 2007.[1] Teammate Michael Boley said of Lewis starting "He's shown a lot of good things, Coming in as a rookie, he's accepting his responsibility now. With us releasing Grady, there's going to be a big weight on his shoulders and I think he's going to take it in stride." He was then listed as the Starting Defensive Tackle in week 10 after the Falcons cut veteran Grady Jackson. During training camp, his number was listed as #67, because in college, he was #76, but that number was already taken. Then his number was changed to #97 before the season began because an older falcons player had the same number as him. He finished the 2007 NFL season with 23 tackles and one interception. Because of his size, Lewis played both Defensive Tackle and Nose Tackle during the season.[1] According To Lewis, the most hard adjustment from NCAA Division II to the NFL was working on his Technique.[17] Around this time, Lewis lost 20 pounds and slimmed down to 294 pounds.[4]

In November 2007, during a week 11 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Trey Lewis went down with a torn right ACL and was later placed on the Falcons' injured reserve list.[2][4] He had his knee operated on to fix the torn ligament. On March 4, 2008, Lewis fell down a set of stairs and re-injured his right knee. Falcons coach Mike Smith said "It's tough for us, but it is also disappointing for Trey because he was making tremendous progress in his rehabilitation,". His Agent, Richard Katz, told reporters "He's having some surgery this week. Basically, he's lost the three months that he's been rehabbing"'. The accident was described as a "freak accident" due to the nature of the injury. Trey Lewis was inactive during mini-camp.[3] The situation had caused the Falcons' Management to consider drafting Glenn Dorsey of LSU with the 3rd pick of the first round in the NFL draft.[18] The Falcons instead drafted Matt Ryan of Boston College while the Kansas City Chiefs picked Dorsey with the 5th pick.[19]

On July 26, 2008, after not fully recovering from his torn ACL, Lewis was placed on the non-football injury list, where he remained for the rest of the season.[4][20]

The Atlanta Falcons website reported in an article that Lewis was "ready to put his knee injury behind him".[21] The article interviews Lewis about his knee injury and his future.[21] When asked about what he initially thought of the knee injury, he replied "I just thought I tweaked it, When you have your surgery the knee feels different every day. I just thought something was weird. I didn't know until a couple days later when I got a call with the results of the MRI. You just have to pick up the pieces and start over again."[21] Since his injury, Lewis has been cleared to participate in organized team activities, including on-field work, but he wants to make sure he remains healthy for the rigors of the preseason.[21] He was quotes as saying "As of right now I want to get through this offseason program and make sure everything is good," he said. "I want to get confident with my knees right now so, when training camp starts, I'm full throttle and there's no holding back whatsoever."[21] When asked about off-season conditioning, Lewis replied: "I think I'm a lot stronger, especially in my upper body. My lower body feels stronger than it was prior to the injury. I'm excited to see what I can do now with a year of NFL lifting and training without banging on (the knee)."[21] He competed for the starting job in the 2009 NFL season.[21]

Lewis was inactive for the first 2 weeks, but after DT Peria Jerry was placed on Injured Reserve, Lewis was bumped up a spot on the depth chart.[22] On September 28, 2009, against the New England Patriots, Lewis played in his first regular season NFL game since November 2007.[22] He amassed 6 tackles.

Lewis started in the opening game of the 2010 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers and had two tackles, but was inactive for the remainder of the season.[23]

Lewis signed a contract extension with the Falcons in February 2011.[24] However, he was released by the Falcons during final cuts on September 2, 2011.[25]

After being released by the Falcons, Lewis was brought in for a workout with the Chicago Bears in May 2012, but was not signed.[26]

Lewis then signed with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League in 2012.[27] He played in 3 games for the Nighthawks before the league folded in October. He finished with 11 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.[28]

Cary Williams, a Washburn defensive back who was drafted in the 7th round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans, was scouted heavily by scouts coming into the NFL draft. Williams stated that if it hadn't been for Trey Lewis being scouted and drafted, he would not have had a chance at even being scouted. "Trey really opened the door for Washburn (University)," Williams said in an interview with KTKA-49 News in Topeka. KS.[29]